Two Sides Of A Coin
by Heuress
Summary: AU. When Alfred F. Jones moved to a new school, he never imagined that he would meet his long-lost brother.
1. The First Chapter

**A/N: HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY! This is my first Hetalia fanfiction, and it is also an AU. This chapter's a bit short, but I just wrote it last night heh. Don't worry though; I promise that the chapters will get longer. So in this, Arthur is Alfred's father and Francis is Matthew's father. Alfred's going to have a lot more... moody moments in this, as he is a teenager, and a very rebellious one at that. I apologise if this chapter is lame and if the characters are too OOC. Nothing happens much, but I didn't know how to start the story. I'm not a very good writer, but hey, way to go for the very creative, not-at-all-unoriginal chapter title, right XD? Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome. Please read and enjoy. Have a very happy Easter! :3**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers.**

**Chapter One- The First Chapter**

O.o.O.o.O.o.O Alfred O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Loud snores echoed around the dark room. There was a shuffle and the teenager turned in his sleep. His covers had already fallen on the floor and he was sprawled out on the bed. His glasses had still been left on the entire night and they were slowly making their way down the bridge of his nose. The boy gave a loud snore and that was when something truly horrifying happened; his alarm went off.

Slowly peeling his eyelids back, Alfred lazily whacked the alarm off his bedside table. The alarm fell with a bang and Alfred rolled over. He noticed that his covers were nowhere to be seen and peered over the edge of his bed. His covers were lying at the foot of his bed and he picked them up before dumping them over himself. He hugged them tightly and lay his head back down on his pillow.

Alfred yawned and blinked a little before closing his eyes and trying to get some sleep. He managed to get a few minutes of rest and mostly dreamt that someone was yelling his name. He buried his head in his pillow, very close to falling into a deep slumber.

Unfortunately for him though, the door flew open to reveal an irate Englishman standing at the door, "Alfred, get up! It's almost time for you to go to school!"

"Don't wanna..." Alfred muttered as he curled up into a ball.

"Alfred, you're going to be late!"

Alfred grumbled something incoherent and turned his back on the Englishman. Arthur's eye twitched. He marched over to Alfred's bed and pulled the covers off. Alfred wimpered as the cool air washed over him like waves.

"You have five minutes to get ready for school." Arthur said firmly and left the room. He went to the bathroom and picked up a black bag that lay on the floor. He unzipped it and took out a hair brush. Arthur stared at the mirror and brought the hair brush down over his messy blond locks. He continued to brush his hair, but it was useless; his unruly hair kept sticking out at odd ends, no matter how much he brushed it. Frowning, he placed the brush back inside the black bag and left the room.

He headed towards his new study and when he entered, he was met with the sight of a bunch of boxes. Arthur sighed. He'd probably have to unpack after he got home from work. Arthur and his son, Alfred, had just moved to the United States. Prior to moving, they had lived in England. Alfred had never liked the weather in England, nor had he really fit in with any of of the students at his old school, and he was ecstatic that they had moved to the US. Arthur, on the other hand, had not been happy at all. He had only been to the United States once before, and that had been long ago, when he had adopted Alfred. Adopting Alfred had been the only good thing that had come out of his trip. He had vowed to never set foot in that country again. However, Arthur's job had required him to break that vow and to move to America, lest he lose his job. Arthur and Alfred had stayed in England until the Christmas holidays so that Alfred could finish his school term.

Although they had already been here for a week, the father and son duo had been very disorganised, and had only managed to unpack a few boxes and to move some furniture into the living room, kitchen, and the bedrooms.

Arthur walked over to a box in the right corner of the room and bent down. He retrieved some of the documents that he needed and grabbed a thin, black briefcase that leaned on the box. He left the room and went down to the living room, sitting down on the one of the few pieces of furniture that had been unpacked; the sofa. He skimmed through the documents, making sure that he had everything he needed before safely stacking them away into his sleek black briefcase.

The sound of a ticking noise made him draw his eyes to the clock that was seated on the mantelpiece. He gritted his teeth; if Alfred didn't come downstairs now, he was going to be late for his first day of school. What was worse, Arthur was going to be late for work.

Arthur had half a mind to get back upstairs and drag the lazy teenager into the car, but ultimately decided to give him just a few more minutes. He had been told many times that he should be patient with Alfred and a few more minutes was more than enough time for the boy to get ready to go.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Eyes of emerald green narrowed slightly at the clock and the Brit started tapping his right foot. The ticking continued, and when the blond man had had enough, he stood up, left the room, and stomped up the stairs. Screw being patient! He was going to be late! He came to a stop in front of a wooden door and immediately started pounding on it with his fists.

"ALFRED! Get out right now, or I'll-!"

Arthur didn't even bother finishing his sentence; he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door. He was about to yell again when he froze. He was horrified to note that his son was still in bed, half-naked. Arthur bit back a growl and barked, "GET UP!"

The two simple words awoke a startled Alfred. He stared at his father with a blank expression on his face, "Wha-?"

He was interrupted by a bunch of clothes being thrown at him. "Hey!"

"Get dressed and get in the car." Arthur hissed, trying to keep his temper under control. It would do no good to lose his temper when he was already late. Oh, his boss was going to kill him.

"But I haven't had breakfast-"

Arthur silenced his son with a down-right murderous expression. A shiver ran down Alfred's spine, "OK, OK, I'm getting dressed."

"I'm going to start the car. Don't take too long." Arthur said with a warning look and left Alfred to get dressed.

Alfred threw his t-shirt on and pulled his jeans up over his thighs. He was so glad that he didn't have to wear stupid uniforms anymore. He pulled his socks over his feet and tied his sneakers on. When he was ready, he grabbed his backpack and raced downstairs. He took his jacket from the coat-hanger and flew out the door. A sheet of snow covered the ground and Alfred's sneakers were already getting a little wet. His father was waiting for him outside the rumbling red car, wearing a large red coat. His large eyebrows creased into a frown upon seeing his son's attire.

"Alfred, what in the Queen's name are you wearing? It's bloody freezing out here!"

"I can handle the cold, Pops." Alfred said smoothly.

"Alfred-"

"Shouldn't we be going?" Alfred interrupted. As much as he hated reminding his father about school, he really didn't feel like standing out here and arguing. Arthur shot him a look, but Alfred could tell that he had won this round. Alfred: 1, Arthur: 0.

"At least put your bloody coat on, for heaven's sake." Arthur said as he got in the car. Alfred grinned as he went over to the other side and got in the passenger's seat. Arthur buckled his seat belt in and raised a bushy eyebrow at his son, "Put your seat belt on, Alfred."  
"I don't need a seat belt."

"Alfred."

Sighing, Alfred did as he was told, if only to avoid another argument. Arthur drived out of the driveway, out of the street and onto the main road.

"Hey, now that we're in the good 'ole US of A, d'ya think that we can sell this hunka junk?"

"The car?"

"Yup. We should get one with the steering wheel on the right side." Alfred said.

"The steering wheel is on the right side."

"No, on the **right** side. As in, the right side of the car... and right side, as in the correct side. There's a reason it's called the **right** side... 'cause it's the right side."

Arthur rolled his eyes, but didn't reply. They drove on in silence before Alfred grew bored. He turned the radio on and a horrendous noise echoed around the car; something Alfred liked to call `dubstep´. Arthur tried to ignore it and, to his credit, was doing a very good job... that is, until Alfred decided to turn the volume up.

"Alfred, turn the volume down," as usual, his son ignored him, "Turn it down, **now**."

"No."

"Turn. It. Down."

"No."

"Turn the volume down."

"Nope."

"Alfred," Arthur turned to look at his son, a forced smile on his face, "that wasn't a request."

"I know, but I like this song."

Arthur scoffed. Song? That crap was considered a "song"? By God, did he worry for future generations.

"Well I don't. Now turn the volume down or I'll change the station."

Alfred didn't reply, staring out of the window at all the cars, people and buildings that passed by. True to his word, Arthur changed the radio station.

"HEY! I was listening to that!"

"And now you're listening to this." Arthur said, pleased that that there was something actually good on this station. He didn't think that there were many radio stations that played `The Beatles´ anymore.

Alfred glared at his father for a while before switching the station back again. The song had changed to a rap song- something about a `Rap God´? Alfred bobbed his head and started rapping along. Arthur's green eyes narrowed and he changed the station. Alfred shot his father a death squint and changed it back again. The two kept switching the stations without speaking a word to each other until-

"Would you cut it out already?!" Alfred demanded angrily.

"Would you!?" Arthur snapped back, his eyes fixed on the road straight ahead. He switched the radio off. Alfred huffed,

"I just want to listen to that song. Is that such a crime?"

"You can listen to that garbage later, when I'm not driving you to school."

"It isn't garbage!"

"I beg to differ."

"Just because your taste in songs is so outdated, doesn't mean good songs are bad."

"I'm not saying that it's bad... even though it is."

"You just said that it was garbage!"

"Your point?"

Alfred's icy glare seemed to have no effect whatsoever on his father, "Garbage generally means bad, idiot."

"No, it means it's worse than bad... and don't call me an idiot because you have no taste in music."

Alfred shook his head, "You're a jerk, _Arthur_."

"`Arthur´?"

"Yes, Arthur. That's your name, isn't it?"

Arthur gripped the steering wheel tightly and an uncomfortably tense silence fell over them. The father and son didn't exchange another word to each other. Arthur focused his attention back on the road and Alfred resumed staring out of the window.

The car suddenly screeched to a halt and Arthur turned to Alfred, "Get out."

"W-what?" Alfred exclaimed with a shocked look on his face. Was his father seriously going to kick him out of the car?

"We're here, you bampot." Arthur said and Alfred looked past him to see the school building. Oh. Alfred unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door. He grabbed his backpack without saying a word to Arthur before slamming the door and walking off. He could hear Arthur driving away.

Alfred stared at the school building for a good long minute. It was a large beige building about three stories high. It had two large double-doors painted a maroon-ish colour. Even though it was pretty big for a high school, it still seemed un-impressive; Alfred was disappointed. This looked a bit like the same boring old school he had attended in England. Alfred had expected more. It was then that it dawned on him that he should get inside. He was probably already late. Oh well.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O Matthew O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Large, strange-coloured, violet-blue eyes stared at the large stack of pancakes that were piled at the centre of the table. They were all a golden shade and looked extremely delectable. To top it off, there was a large bottle of maple syrup right next to them. The pajama-clad teenager gazed at them lustfully.

"Good morning, Matthieu." a smooth voice startled Matthew. Matthew turned around to face a handsome man with wavy blond hair and cerulean blue eyes.

"Good morning, Papa," Matthew smiled before once again turning his head to the stack of pancakes, "Did you make this?"

"What do you fink?" Francis smirked. Matthew's smile widened as he approached the table. He sank down on a chair and grabbed some of the pancakes before dumping them on his plate. He inhaled the sweet, mouth-watering smell and reached for the bottle of maple syrup. He squirted the syrup all over the pancakes. He grabbed a knife and fork and started digging in. He seemed to gobble them up while still attempting to act in a polite manner. His father ate a little slower, watching in amusement as Matthew gasped for air. "You should not eat so quickly, mon fils."

Matthew sent him an apologetic look, his mouth too full to speak with. Francis went over to the coffee machine to make them both some coffee.

"I thought you weren't going to use that again." Matthew said between gulps of air.

"I know, but I do not have ze time to make it myself."

"Papa, it doesn't take very long to make."

"True, but look at ze time, Matthieu." Francis said, jerking his head in the direction of the large clock that hung on the wall. Matthew froze.

"Papa, I think we should go- I-I'm going to be late at this rate." Matthew stood up.

"Nonsense, we've still got a leetle time. You've got twenty minutes left before school starts."

"It's a fifthteen minute drive." Matthew said. Francis blinked.

"And so what?"

"So I n-need to get dressed." Matthew rushed out of the kitchen and ran upstairs to his bedroom. He stripped out of his maple-leafed pajamas and put on a red hoodie that was far too big for him. He grabbed a pair of jeans and put them on. He spotted his maple-leafed backpack (man, did he love maple leaves) and checked to make sure that he had all of his books. Today was the first day of the new term and he didn't want to be late.

When he was sure that he had everything, he went back downstairs. He went to the kitchen and said, "J-je suis prets, Papa."

Francis turned around and gasped in horror at the sight of him. Matthew blanched.

"W-what is i-it? W-what's wrong?"

Francis pointed a long, accusing finger at him, "Y-you... what are you wearing?"

"M-my clothes?"

Francis grimaced, "You mean you're telling me that you are actually going to wear _zat_ on your first day back to school?!"

"...Oui?"

Francis crossed his arms, "Well, zat is simply unacceptable."

"W-why?"

"I would fink zat it would be obvious. What you are wearing is completely hideous, Matthieu. I am appalled."

"But I wear this all the time-"

"Exactly. This is going to be your first day back. Iz a special occasion, non?"

"...Non."

"Don't be silly, of course it is. As it is a special occasion, you should be wearing something fabulous. What you are wearing is simply attrocious. Really, it does not even deserve to be considered clothes."

"...Quoi?"

"I refuse to be seen with you dressed like zat, Matthieu."

"P-papa, I don't think there's time to get changed, though."

"Then I guess you'll simply have to be late for school." Francis said and Matthew gave him a blank look. Francis almost always said that, but that was never the case; he hated being late as much as Matthew, if not more so. He just didn't show it at times. The minute hand ticked and Francis wouldn't budge; Matthew knew that it was only a matter of time before Francis's will crumbled. There was another tick and Francis sighed,

"Fine. Montez dans la voiture, Matthieu." Francis said and tossed the car keys to Matthew, who caught them. Matthew went back to the hallway. He took his white and red jacket from the coat hanger and put it on before opening the front door and taking his leave. He went to the car that was parked in the driveway. He walked towards the left front door and opened the car door using the key. He climbed inside and strapped the seat belt on. Francis was out the door not a minute later, a sleek black briefcase in hand. He got in the driver's seat and twisted around to put his briefcase on the back seats. He sat back down, closed the door and started the car. Francis pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

"W-what's in the briefcase?" Matthew asked awkwardly. He barely ever attempted to make conversation, even with his father.

"Oh, nothing important. Just some recipes."

"Recipes are not important?"

Francis simply smiled at Matthew. He was a chef at a local restaurant. Matthew knew that his father dreamed of becoming the famous owner and Head Chef of the best restaurant in the world. His father worked very hard and Matthew didn't doubt that one day, he would be the best chef in the world, if he wasn't already.

"So Matthieu," Francis started, "are you going out with your friends again today?"

Matthew looked down at his lap for a while before answering, "No."

Well, that was the truth. Matthew wasn't going out with his friends today; he didn't have any. Not that his father knew that. Matthew had told Francis that he had a few friends, but really, he was invisible to practically everyone. He just didn't want Francis to think that he was some social outcast that nobody liked. Not even his teachers acknowledged his existence. Francis was the only one who ever payed attention, but even then, he did tend to... forget, sometimes. It wasn't very serious or often, though. He would just forget that Matthew was in a room, or that Matthew had asked something, or that he wasn't, in fact, the ghost that sometimes lurked in the bathroom... just little things like that.

Even though his father tended to forget him at times, he was still the best person that Matthew ever knew. Matthew remembered when his father had found him, all alone and abandoned. Matthew couldn't remember much of that night, but he still remembered his father taking him in, feeding him, loving him... saving him. Matthew had been around four years old when Francis had met him, and he had legally become his son at the age of five. Although Francis had already explained to Matthew that he was adopted, Matthew hadn't believed him at first; after all, they looked very similar. However, as time went on, Matthew grew to accept that Francis was not his biological father; he was better.

Matthew looked at his watch; he was definitely going to be late. He sighed. He had woken up early enough, so what had gone wrong? He supposed it didn't really matter... the teachers didn't really know he existed anyway...

Francis hummed, "When am I going to meet your friends, hmm?"

"One day." Matthew replied. One day... when he had some. _If _he got some.

"Well, I sure 'ope that that day comes soon!" Francis smiled and Matthew couldn't help but smile back. Francis turned on the radio and a horrible noise blurted out. Both Francis and Matthew cringed. "Eurgh, what is that 'orrible sound?" Francis exclaimed, immediately switching stations.

"I t-think that's dubstep..." Matthew winced.

"It sounds like merde."

Matthew nodded in agreement. Luckily, the song had switched to something that Matthew liked very much: `The Beatles´. His father hummed along.

"Zis is a nice song. Who sings it?"

"`The Beatles´, I think." Matthew answered as a red light shone brightly at them.

Francis stopped humming, "An English band. Turn it off immediately, Matthieu."

Matthew rolled his eyes. The traffic light turned green again, but the line wasn't moving.

"Oh, putain." Francis swore and Matthew looked out the window. Some car at the front of the line wasn't moving and when the light turned yellow, the car sped off and the light turned red.

After what felt like a really long time, the light turned green again. There were two attractive women wearing very revealing clothing (Matthew wondered why they were dressed like that when they were surrounded by snow... they might catch a cold, or worse) standing outside with a large sign that said: "Honk if you support women's rights".

Francis honked many times in rapid succession and they flashed him a smile.

"Papa..."

"What? You don't support women's rights?"

Matthew sighed, knowing exactly that that was not the reason why his father had honked. They were close to the school now and a tiny part of Matthew couldn't help but want to get out of the car and run away. Ever since they had moved here last year, Matthew had felt so alone. Back in Canada, where they had lived for a while before, he had a friend; Kumasaka. Kumajaga had been his best friend, and the coolest one at that; he had been a polar bear. Matthew remembered when he had brought him home to introduce him to his father; Francis had very nearly fainted. He had wanted to get animal control and move Kumagaka to a zoo or something, but Matthew had begged and pleaded with him not to. At the time, Matthew hadn't understood why it was wrong to befriend a bear, but now... he still didn't understand. The day that they had left had been the worst day of Matthew's life. Matthew had had to say farewell to Kumasagi; it had been a tragic moment in his life.

"We're here," Francis brought him back to the present. Matthew opened the door and grabbed his backpack, "Have a nice day at school. Je t'aime."

"Je t'aime aussi." Matthew smiled and got out. He waved as Francis drove away and sighed. He turned around to look at the school building. He had better get to class...


	2. Gluttony is a Curse

**A/N: Happy 1st of June! Before I let you get on with the chapter, may I express my sincerest apologies for taking so long to update? I didn't mean to take over a month, honest! In fact, I had planned to update some time in May, but my computer completely shut down and wouldn't start up again. It was infuriating. Anyway, I hope to keep up a schedule from now on and be a little more organised, however that may prove to be difficult as I am soon moving to another country. It's already the summer holiday in this country, so I'll just wish you all a happy holiday now.**

**As you'll soon find out, Alfred acts very differently in this chapter than he does in the first one; that's because I'm hoping to have him be a rebellious teenager towards his father but still the silly Alfred that we all know and love towards everyone else. Also, the friendship between Kiku and Alfred (oops, spoiler) moves pretty quickly (no thanks to Alfred) because that's usually how I made friends (so this is kind of from personal experience- kind of, but not really). Anyway, I'm not too happy about this chapter, however I really felt the need to update ASAP, so here it is. Hope it's not too bad. Also, please don't read this if you are easily offended. Now prepare yourselves for OOC-ness on everyone's part!**

**Chapter Two- Gluttony is a Curse**

Eying the meal in front of him with unsuppressed hunger, the blond teenager swiped the burger from the table and gobbled it up. He moaned a little with pleasure, ignoring the strange looks that his new friend Kiku was giving him. Kiku Honda was a student from Japan and the boy genius of the class (or so everyone said). As soon as he had laid his eyes on him, Alfred had started bugging him with questions about Japan (what do they eat there, what are the houses like, do you eat cats, do you have cable etc.) and Kiku had surprisingly answered all of his questions without waving him away. Deeming this as a sign of friendship, Alfred had declared Kiku his new best buddy on the spot.

Avoiding his friend's watchful eye, Alfred looked around the cafeteria. It was pretty big and it was only now that he realised just how many people attended this school. Alfred turned his gaze back to his plate, which had only salad remaining. He hadn't wanted to take any, he really hadn't, but the dinner lady had just dumped it on his plate.

"Hey Kiku."

The adressed boy stared back at Alfred inquiringly.

"Do... do you want it?" Alfred offered, jerking his head a little towards the salad. Kiku shook his head.

"No thank-you, Alfred-san."

Alfred's shoulders sagged as he slumped down. He looked at the salad in front of him with a pained expression.

"You know... you do not have to eat it, Alfred-san."  
Alfred's head snapped up, "I don't?"

Kiku shook his head as Alfred mentally whooped. Yes! To the trash can!

"Kiku, Kiku!"

Both Alfred and Kiku looked around to see a cheery-faced brunet with a strange curl sticking out of his hair. "Vee~, Kiku it's been so long!"

"Feliciano-kun. It is good to see you again."

"I didn't see you in class today." the boy now identified as Feliciano pouted.

"That would be because we are not in the same class, Feliciano-kun."

Feliciano didn't seem to have heard him, "Why don't you come sit with us, Kiku?"

"I would, but..." Kiku looked back at Alfred and Feliciano finally seemed to notice Alfred.

"Who are you?" Feliciano asked with a bright smile on his face. Before Alfred could answer, Feliciano started speaking again, "My name is Feliciano. I come from Italy and I love pasta! Pasta is very good for your health and is very yummy! It is the best thing in the world! I also have a brother, he is very funny. What are you doing here? Where did you come from? I come from Italy and I love pasta!"

Feliciano continued to babble on and on before the presence of someone else nearby finally made him pause for a moment, "Vee~! Luddy! Over here!" Feliciano waved a tall blond guy over.

"Vargas. I've been looking for you."

"You have? Yay!" Feliciano beamed. The tall blond guy's ice-blue eyes travelled from the little Italian to Alfred.

"Who might this be?"

"Alfred F. Jones, at your sevice!" Alfred introduced himself with a bright grin and held out a hand.

"Ludwig Beilshmidt. Pleasure," the blond guy said, ignoring Alfred's outstretched hand and turning back to Kiku and Felciano, "Honda. I trust you had a pleasant holiday?"

Kiku gave off a nod.

"Ser good. Well, I must be going. Class is about to start. It was nice meeting you." Ludwig inclined his head in Alfred's direction before turning on his heel and marching off.

"Wait for meeeeee~!" Feliciano took off after him, leaving Kiku and Alfred alone again. Alfred turned to face Kiku.

"Those your friends? They seemed...nice."  
Kiku sighed in response and went back to picking at his own salad. Alfred watched him for a moment before asking, "What does it taste like?"

The Japanese student gave him a confused look, "I am afraid that I do not know what you mean, Alfred-san."

"The salad. What does it taste like?"

Kiku stared at Alfred's curious expression before answering, "It tastes like salad. I am sure that you could just eat your own, if you really want to know how it tastes like."

"No, I mean to you. What does it taste like to you? Like, in your opinion. Because you're Asian. Does it taste... foreign? Wait- do Asians even eat salad?"

Kiku didn't reply, his expression stoic as his eyes locked on Alfred's face.

"Also, how does it feel using a knife and fork? Bet you're not used to eating without chopsticks, huh?"

"I have lived in America for over a year." Kiku finally responded, but Alfred kept staring at him intently.

"Yeah. So?"

"So I am very familiar with using these utensils."

"Cool. Hey, wanna come over to my house and watch a horror movie with me?" Alfred asked out of the blue.

Kiku's eyes widened a little in shock for a split second before he regained his composure, "I- I'm sorry?"

"C'mon, it'll be fun! We'll have coke, candies, popcorn! It'll be awesome! Hey, you can even bring some wasabi over or something and put it on your popcorn if ya want."

Kiku seemed slightly hesitant and the usually totally oblivious Alfred caught on to that.

"It's OK if it's too scary for you. I'll protect you 'cause I'm the hero!"

Kiku delicately stabbed his salad with his fork before bringing the fork up to his lips. He opened his mouth and chewed on the salad. When he was finished, he said, "It's not that, it's- I mean, don't you think it's a little... well, early to invite someone you've just met to your house?"

"Nope!"

"What I'm trying to say is that... well... not to be rude or anything, but... don't you think we should wait a little before going over to each others' houses?"

"Nope!"

"Are you sure?"

"Nope! Wait-," Alfred shook his head a little, a silly little grin already spreading across his face, "I mean, course I am! You're my best friend, after all."

It was clear that Kiku didn't really know how to respond to that. He looked as if he was contemplating whether or not he should say something, but then seemed to decide against it, instead opting to look down at his plate.

"So whadda you say?"

"To be honest, Alfred-san, I think I might be busy today-"

"Nonsense! You can never be too busy for a good old horror movie!"

"I have kendo practice-"

"Dude, stop making words up-"

"I'm not-"

"Then just ditch your kung-fu-"

"It's not kung-fu-"

"Then what is it? Taekwondo?"

"I told you, it is kendo-"

"Dude, stop making words up-"

"Alfred," Kiku heaved an exasperated sigh, "I cannot skip the practice. Today will be the first day since the holidays that practice is on and it is vital that I attend. Perhaps another time-" Kiku paused upon seeing Alfred's face crumple. He looked so... deflated, so heart-broken. Kiku couldn't help but be a little stunned (of course, he didn't show it). It wasn't like it was the end of the world. What he said was true, after all. They had only just met.

"Oh. I see. You don't wanna spend time with me, is that it?"

"...What?"

"It's okay. You go do your kendo-thing." Alfred sniffed dramatically and stood up, taking hold of either side of his tray. Kiku could do nothing but stare as Alfred walked away painfully slowly to put his tray away. For what felt like the umpteenth time that day, Kiku sighed.

"Wait."

Alfred stopped, but did not turn around.

"I suppose I might be able to... come over for a while. So long as it doesn't take too long-"

Kiku was interrupted by a clatter before a bone-crushing hug enveloped him. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he immediately tensed up. He automatically pushed Alfred away, but the American didn't seem to mind.

"Oh, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" Alfred bounced up and down, eyes shining brightly. This was gonna be great! Alfred payed no attention to the looks that other students were throwing him. He did a little excited dance and missed the furious blush that spread across Kiku's face as students started staring at him as well.

"You're welcome, Alfred-san. Come, let's go. Class is about to start." Kiku all but flew out of the cafeteria.

"Yo, wait up!" Alfred called from behind him.

"Is someone going to clean this mess up?!" someone demanded from inside the cafeteria, but their question was ignored. Alfred grinned. He knew that this would be a great day!

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The bell rang, signalling the class's end. It was finally time to go home and Alfred couldn't wait to show Kiku his house! He grabbed his bag, slung one of the straps over his shoulder and raced out along with most of the other students. His first day had been better than he had expected. Some of the teachers were nice, he'd made a new friend with an Asian person (one of his many life-long dreams), his class was pretty cool (with the possible exception of that creepy Russian kid)- yep, everything seemed all well and good with the school so far. Although to be fair, it was just his first day and he didn't really know anyone really well, but still.

Alfred was engulfed in a sea of students filing out of their classrooms, some rushing towards freedom while others took their time. Alfred scanned the crowd to see if he could spot Kiku and- BAM! He bumped into someone and a quiet yelp could be heard as someone fell over. Books went flying up in the air before crashing down to the floor.

"Dude, watch where you're going!" Alfred exclaimed automatically.

"S-sorry." a barely audible voice apologised as the student who Alfred had bumped into picked himself up off the ground. Alfred couldn't see his face and the student winced as he stared at all of his books. He knelt back down and started picking them up, mumbling softly under his breath. Alfred watched the boy for a while silently. Of course, like always, Alfred could never stay silent for too long.

"Here, let me help," Alfred offered and bent down, starting to collect the other student's books. He missed the glance of astonishment and pure disbelief that the boy sent him. Once Alfred had collected the remaining books and stacked them in a pile, he stood upright, "There ya go." he outstretched his arms, waiting for the student to take the books. The boy accepted them slowly, but gratefully.

"T-thank-you." he whispered, finally standing up.

"No problem!" Alfred assured, eying the boy. The student had wavy blond- almost golden- hair and bluish-purplish eyes. An ahoge stuck out of his hair and he wore baggy clothes. He seemed familiar somehow, but Alfred (being Alfred) couldn't quite pinpoint when or where he had seen him before. Probably on the street or something. The boy stared right back at Alfred, his eyes slightly squinted.

"Is there anything else you needed?" Alfred asked, trying not to be too rude. The way the purple-eyed student looked at him was unnerving.

"M-my g-glasses." the boy breathed.

"Huh?"

"My g-glasses." the student repeated a little louder (although really, it didn't make that much of a difference). Alfred looked down at the floor and spotted a pair of glasses. Squatting down, Alfred reached out to fish them. When he had successfully rescued them from being trampled by the feet of other students, he took a good look at them. Seems he hadn't really rescued them at all. The lenses were slightly cracked and the bridge was bent. Alfred grimaced before handing them over to the other student.

The other student graciously accepted them and put them on. He blinked a little before focusing on Alfred.

"Thank-you." he thanked Alfred once again. Alfred waved it off.

"It was nothing. Just watch where you're going next time, okay?"

The student nodded before staring down at his books.

"So what's your name?"

The student didn't answer immediately, but then said softly, "M-matthew."  
"What?"

"Matthew." the boy raised his voice a little, although Alfred still had to strain to hear it.

"I'm Alfred. Alfred F. Jones." Alfred held out his hand. He was pleased when Matthew took it and shook it.

"Matthew Williams." Matthew introduced himself fully.

"You may not have noticed, but I'm new here!"

"I know." Matthew murmured but Alfred didn't hear him and instead asked, "How come I didn't see you in class? Wait- don't tell me," a shit-eating grin appeared magically on Alfred's face and threatened to split his face in half, "You skipped, didn't you?"

Matthew blinked, "W-what?"

"Shh, it's okay. I won't tell anyone." Alfred promised.

"But- but I didn't-"

"Hey, there's no need to lie. I've done it plenty of times. It would be hyperotical of me to tell on you."

Matthew's eyebrows knitted together, "H-hyperotical?" Once again, Alfred didn't hear him,. The two stood like that for a while and it was only after another minute had gone by that they realised that they were still holding hands. Alfred retracted his hand and turned his back on Matthew, continuing to scan the crowd for Kiku. Matthew took this as an oppurtunity to put his books back in his bag. He took his backpack off and unzipped it. He leaned forward for a moment to put his books back in when- BAM! He fell over face-first on the ground with a crunch. Alfred jerked around at the sound and stared at Matthew with a guilty look on his face. He had accidentally backed into him and now Matthew was sprawled on the ground, dead.

...Well, maybe not dead exactly. But he certainly looked it.

"Dude... you okay?" Alfred asked. For a moment, there was no answer and Alfred began to wonder if he really had killed him. But then, luckily, Matthew groaned in pain. Alfred took that as a sign that he was alright and was about to approach him-

"Alfred-san!"

Alfred whipped his head around and smiled when he saw Kiku walking towards them, "Yo, Kiku! You ready to go?"

At Kiku's confirmitive nod, Alfred wrapped an arm around the small Jap's shoulders. Once again, Kiku tensed and shrugged it off. It wasn't as forceful as the shove from earlier, but Alfred got the hint, so job done. Alfred sauntered out of the school with Kiku by his side, leaving Matthew on the ground.

"Forgive me for asking, but how far away is your house?"

That simple question made Alfred's insides freeze. He couldn't stop the moan of despair from escaping his lips. His house was ages away! They'd have to walk and walk and walk and walk and walk and walk and walk miles to get there! Oh, the horror!

"It's pretty far," Alfred told Kiku honestly. They opened the doors and were instantly greeted by the ferocious wind that nearly pushed them back. They managed to regain their footing though and pushed through the wind, "I had no idea it would be this windy!"

"Did you not watch the weather forecast, Alfred-san?"

"Nope! Those things lie all the time!"

Kiku didn't respond to that, and really, there was no need to. The wind was bitingly cold and soon enough, Alfred's cheeks started to sting. The teenager burried his face inside his jacket and his eyes flickered towards Kiku, who was doing the same thing except with his scarf instead of his jacket. Damn it! Why hadn't he picked warmer clothes? Alfred's hands were freezing and he plunged them into his pockets. His eyes squinted as snow blew into his eyes. He blinked the snow flakes away, cursing this hell-like weather. Looking at his dear new friend from the corner of his eyes, Alfred noted that Kiku didn't seem to be doing too well against the cold either (although to his credit, he was holding up much better than Alfred); Kiku's normally expressionless face betrayed traces of annoyance. Traces of annoyance that Alfred did not catch, however.

Alfred gritted his teeth as the gale seemed to slap him continuosly. He really wanted to strike up a conversation; he usually always talked and did not hold up well when things were quiet. However, anything he said was drowned out by the wind. He tried yelling to catch Kiku's attention, but Kiku seemed fixated on something far ahead of him and did not even spare him a glance.

The snow crunched under Alfred's feet and Alfred's teeth started clacking a little. He willed them to stop with his non-existent abnormal powers, but alas, it did not work. They clattered and chattered so much that Kiku actually turned to face Alfred. Ignoring it, Alfred continued walking. His stomach growled, begging for food. He was so hungry. True, he had eaten earlier at lunch, but he hadn't had breakfast, so he'd only had one meal... and a few snacks in between, but those didn't really count.

Alfred blinked and squinted his eyes so that he could barely see; the snow was blinding and the gale just didn't cease. His glasses were getting a little frosty, he knew this for sure. His ears even started to go a bright red colour. He took out a hand to touch them, but he couldn't feel anything; probably because his hand was freezing. Alfred's stomach growled once more and this time, Alfred couldn't ignore it.

"You hungry?" he yelled over at Kiku, who shook his head, "Would you mind if we ate something anyway?"

Kiku kept his eyes locked on something far ahead and shook his head once more.

"Okay. Cause I'm getting pretty hungry!"

Alfred soon spotted a Chinese restaurant and made to rush towards it when a hand stopped him. He looked questioningly at his companion. Kiku seemed extremely hesitant to enter and was as stiff as Alfred's little guy down there in the mornings.

"Let's go somewhere else, Alfred-san."

Alfred frowned, his stomach growling in disapproval and protest, "Why? Is something wrong?"

Kiku stayed silent for so long that Alfred debated on going in on his own. After all, he was cold and hungry. He'd be damned if he stayed outside for any longer.

"It's... nothing. I am just not fond of Chinese food."

"You don't have to eat. After all, ya did say you weren't hungry. You can just come inside, stay warm and keep me company. Is that really all that bad?"

Kiku's silence was more than an answer in itself.

"C'mon." Alfred grabbed Kiku's arm and led him towards the restaurant. He frowned when he felt Kiku tense up, but brushed it off soon enough. He was a bit surprised that Kiku didn't protest, but then again, he didn't know the guy very well. Alfred hoped that this would be an opportunity to rectify that.

A bell ringed as Alfred opened the door, announcing their arrival. There was no one behind the counter and there were only a few people here. As soon as they had entered, Kiku walked off. "Dude, where are you going?" Alfred asked.

"Bathroom." Kiku replied simply before turning left. Alfred stared after him for a moment, walking towards the counter. He turned his head around and yelped when he saw an excited face stare back at him. The waiter snickered at Alfred's reaction. Upon inspection, Alfred noticed that the waiter couldn't have been older than he was; in fact, he looked even younger.

"Welcome!" the youth greeted, eying Alfred's chest.

"Er, hi. Two seats please."

"Right this way," the waiter led him up a few steps and to a small table with two chairs at the far back of the room, "You know, seats were invented in Korea."

Alfred couldn't hold back a scoff, "No way, dude. They were invented in America."

"It was Korea, da ze."

"'Murrica."

"Korea."

"'Murrica."

"Korea."

"'Murrica."

"Boobs!"

"'Mur- wait, what? Where?" Alfred spun around, hoping to catch a glimpse at what the waiter was staring at. Unfortunately for him, the waiter wasn't looking past him; he was looking at him. His chest, to be precise. The little Asian boy smirked. Alfred pouted as he stared out of the window, "Dude, where? You lied."

"Right in front of me, heh."

Alfred turned back to face the waiter and caught him staring. It took him a while to figure out what the waiter meant by that, but he eventually managed to reach the right conclusion, "Those aren't boobs! I am a man! Hey, what are you- no, no, no, stop that!"

The waiter had started leaning towards Alfred's chest with an outstretched hand and a hungry look in his eyes.

"Im Yong Soo."

Both Alfred and the waiter turned around to see Kiku standing there. His expression was as stoic as it had been before, but his eyes showed his slight irritation. The young waiter beamed at him, "Kiku! How was school?"

The waiter, now identified as Im Yong Soo, started walking towards Kiku.

"It was fine."

"I thought you had kendo practice?" Im Yong Soo asked, his eyes lingering on Kiku's chest.

"It starts at seven pm."

"Ah." Im Yong Soo reached out a hand towards Kiku's chest before the boy in question batted his hand away. Kiku ignored the young waiter's hurt look and strode past him, taking his seat. Alfred did the same, waiting for Im Yong Soo to give him his menu. When half a minute had passed, Alfred glanced at Im Yong Soo, who was staring at them with a knowing look in his eyes. Kiku's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Yong Soo..."

Im Yong Soo snapped out of it and stared at Kiku, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "So, is this your boyfriend?"

Kiku remained expressionless, ignoring the waiter, however Alfred did not follow suit. He whipped his head around, "What did you just say?!"

Im Yong Soo simply sniggered and started backing away.

"Hey! What about my menu!?"

Alfred's question fell on deaf ears, the only response given was the sound of muffled laughter as the young waiter turned around and tried to hurry away without running. Alfred glared at his retreating back before he turned to Kiku, "Who was that?"

"An... acquaintance. No one to worry about. He just works here. Hang on, I'll go get the menu for you." Kiku excused himself, getting back up and walking away. Alfred drummed his fingers on the table and looked around. The place was pretty neat. Fancy, too. Alfred's eyes wandered over the room when they came to a stop. His eyes widened as he saw a beautiful waitress cleaning up after a customer who had already left. She was quite petite and her long, brown hair flowed past her shoulders. He couldn't see her face, but he imagined that she was just as pretty from the front as she was from the back. Clearing his throat, Alfred stood up. He sauntered towards the fair maiden, confidence radiating from him. When he reached her, he tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

The person whirled around, her hair whacking his face. Alfred gaped. She was super cute. She had huge brown eyes, long lashes, thin lips... she was adorable! "Hi..."

The girl raised an eyebrow, "Can I help you, aru?"

It was an instant reaction; Alfred's body immediately froze. It was not a girl's voice that had come out of that waitress, but rather- a man's voice. There could only be one explanation... "Are you a tranny?" Alfred blurted out instantly without thinking. The girl's- or boy's, or gender-neutral thing's- eyes flashed dangerously and her/his/its face went red.

"I beg your pardon!?"

"I meant no offense- I was just curious-!"

His words made things worse and the waiter/waitress looked like she/he was about to explode. Before Alfred could even realise his mistake, a voice called out his name. It was the voice of an angel coming to rescue him, to save him from a cruel, terribly fate.

"Alfred-san."

…Or it was Kiku. That wasn't too bad either.

"What are you- oh." Kiku stopped at the sight of the girl/guy. The waiter/waitress stared at him.

"Kiku. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"School's ended, Yao." Kiku replied.

"Oh."

"Excuse us." Kiku said, mentally telling Alfred to follow him. Alfred, for once, picked up on a mental message, glad to have an excuse to leave- Yao, was it?- Yao's presence. He went back to his seat and sat down.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"An acquaintance. No one to worry about." Kiku handed Alfred's menu over.

"Thanks," Alfred mumbled, opening it. He read through the options before asking, "Just so we're clear... is your `acquaintance´ male or female?"

"Male."

"Ah," Alfred said, skimming through his choices before asking, "So do you come here a lot?"

"I told you, I don't like Chinese food-"

"Yeah, but do you come here a lot?" Alfred repeated his question. Kiku didn't answer, keeping his eyes lowered. Alfred peered over at Kiku from the top of his menu, "Hmm. What should I take? So many decisions... gah, it's so hard to pick! What do you think, Kiku?"

Kiku shrugged, "It is your choice, Alfred-san."

"I wonder if I should have fried rice with chicken? Hey, do they have burgers here?"

Kiku shook his head.

"Shame. Oh, well. Fried rice with chicken it is," Alfred snapped the menu shut and turned to Kiku with a smile, "So, er... how do you get the waiters' attention here?"

As soon as he had said that, an energetic young waiter in the form of Im Yong Soo appeared. "Ready to order, da ze?"

Alfred scowled at him, but answered politely, "Fried rice with chicken."

"Anything else? Prawn crackers? Spring rolls? Hmm, perhaps something from the kids menu... let's see... ah, yes. I see we serve meatballs today. Nice, juicy meatballs. With extra juice... and they come in the form of balls. You know, meatballs were invented in Korea da ze-"

Im Yong quieted at Kiku's warning look. The smirk, however, was still plastered on his face.

"I'll take the prawn crackers and the spring rolls. You can keep the meatballs for yourself." Alfred said and Im Yong Soo snickered. Seriously, did he always have to do that?

"If you're sure. I'll be back soon." Im Yong Soo retreated in the shadows. After that, things went by in a blur. Im Yong Soo soon came back with Alfred's order, "Enjoy, American. Have fun with your boyfriend, brother~"

"Boyfriend?! _Brother?!_" Alfred gaped at Kiku, "You never told me you had a brother!"

"Well I have just known you for a few hours."

"Yeah, but still- we're supposed to be bffs, aren't we?"

Kiku rolled his eyes, "He's not my real brother anyway. He's my step brother's half brother."

Alfred 's eyebrows creased into a frown, "Hold on dude- what? You really need to tell me how your family works."

"Another time."

"But-"

"Your food's getting cold."

At those words, Alfred dropped the subject and practically enhaled all of his food. Alfred then decided it would be a good idea to get a massive banana split for dessert. When he was done, Alfred was given the bill. He checked his pockets for money and his eyes widened when he couldn't find anything. Alfred immediately grabbed his backpack and started rummaging through it, searching for money. When he couldn't find any he blanched and something that felt like bile was rising up in his throat.

"Alfred-san? Is something wrong?"

Alfred stared at Im Yong Soo, who was about three tables away taking the order of some other customers. Alfred smiled weakly at Kiku, "Fine."

As soon as Im Yong Soo had departed, Alfred immediately leaned over the table and hissed, "Kiku! I don't have any money!"

"What?"

"I don't have money! Lend me some!"

"I can't. I don't have any either."

"What?! What do you mean you don't have any!?"

"I mean that I don't have any with me."

Alfred grabbed the sides of his head and gripped his hair. It looked as if he was about to rip it all out, "Please, Kiku, help me out here!"

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Dude! Help me get out of here unnoticed! We can sneak out before they find out, it'll be wo-"

"I really doubt that it will work. Just tell them that you can't pay right now."

"But that'll make me sound like I'm poor!"

"You are poor."

Alfred gasped dramatically, "How dare you!"

"I do not mean to offend you, Alfred-san, but you told me you were poor at lunch time."

"Did I?"

"Yes."

"Then I was lying. I'm filthy rich!"

"Then why can't you pay for your own meal?"

Alfred made a sound that sounded like whining and groaning mixed together, "Because I didn't bring my money!"

Kiku sighed, "Look, let's just-"

"Is something wrong here, aru?"

The new voice made drops of sweat roll down Alfred's face, "No, nothing's wrong here ma'am- I mean sir!- everything's just fine. As a matter of fact, my good friend Kiku here was just about to pay-"

"He doesn't have the money to pay for his meal." Kiku interjected, causing Alfred's head to whip around.

"That's not true! That's not true at all!"

"Now he's lying."

"You traitor!"

Yao raised an eyebrow, "Well, that's just too bad."

Alfred's eyes widened as he turned back to Yao, "No wait! Just- just let me give you my credit card number or something-" Alfred babbled on and on, pleading and whining incessantly.

"I'll pay for him." Kiku offered, having grown tired of Alfred's whinging.

"Dude, you told me you didn't have any money-"

"You can take it out of my wage." Kiku said, his eyes trained on Yao. What could have been the ghost of a smile passed over Yao's face.

"If you're sure."

"Whoa, dude- your _wage_? What, do you work here or something? Is this some kind of family restaurant?"

At the lack of reply, Alfred's jaw dropped, "_Seriously? _Dude, that's like, so cool!"

Yao beamed at Alfred while Kiku simply sighed.

"Shall we go now, Alfred-san?"

Yao frowned, "Go where?"

"Oh yah. I invited Kiku over. Hope that's OK." Alfred chirped.

"As a matter of fact, it isn't `OK´. Kiku, your shift starts in half an hour. You have kendo practice right after that, too."

Alfred was saddened by this grievous news, driven insane with grief while Kiku didn't appear affected by it. Alfred got up and grabbed his backpack from under the table.

"Oh. I see. Guess I'll see ya tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow, Alfred-san." Kiku offered him a small smile.

"Yeah. We can watch horror movies another time. Bye." Alfred waved at Kiku and descended the steps.

"Horror movies?" he heard Yao say and quickly left the restaurant. The weather had settled down outside and the sun was actually visible. That had been a close one. It had been so nice of Kiku to pay for someone else's meal, especially when that someone happened to be someone he had just met. Alfred could tell that they were going to be the best of friends. Smiling to himself, Alfred made his way back home.

**A/N: Yeah, I know, flat, boring ending. As I said though, this chapter was just made because I felt like I needed to upload another. It was definitely not worth the wait, but at least it was something... right? It's kind of rushed and short, but I hope it's not too bad. If there are any typos, I apologise profusely. I did proof-read it, but sometimes I do make mistakes. I get that Kiku and Alfred's friendship kind of hit it off quickly (wow, bffs in a day- only in fanfiction or anime can that happen... especially when it's both), but that's just cause of Alfred really. Anyway, please review. Reviews help a lot :3**


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